One of my ministries is that of an endtime watchman. I was reminded of the Lord’s warning to yet another watchman whose name is Ezekiel. I personally heed the Lord’s command to Ezekiel as though His words were spoken directly to me. Simply put, if I don’t warn you, the people, then your blood is on my hands. (Ezekiel Ch. 3) Consequently ,I am committed to releasing truth not only IN love, but BY love.

Point #1: Simply stated, I personally suspect that the organized church has already been judged relatively recently, perhaps decades, maybe even a century ago.

If not, then judgment is very close at hand. It seems that Satan began to progressively establish a seat within church divisions, sects, and organizations since around the third century.Therefore, I believe that the book of Revelation was written to and for every church age. However, death has been a real blessing for the saints who have already left this earth prior to “the end.” Truly, those who are alive when the Lord Jesus Christ returns for the dead and the living will face a challenge that no other church age has been required to face. I believe that we are in that hour NOW—as we live in the best of times and the worst of times. I may see the grave, maybe NOT—-but my daughter and my grandson may yet be alive when He comes. So where do we stand now?

Point #2. Well, I believe that we are in the midst of a transition.

Back in the summer of 1981, as I sat in a chair dozing,–(not asleep yet not fully awake either,) I heard the audible voice of the Lord. I didn’t have to try the spirits on this one. Didn’t have a chance to. He said “Pam,” and my spirit caused my mouth to answer immediately— “Yes, Lord.”

Then He said “I am about to do a new thing with My Church.” I stirred, stretched a bit and answered, ” Uh, huh.” Then, in the sweetest voice I have ever heard in my life, He asked very politely, without a hint of command or demand—- “Can I use you??” I was spiritually ignorant back then and so I answered without even thinking, “Sure Lord. Let’s start with the Roses of Hope.” It took years for me to realize that “His church” was not just the local church that I was a member of.

In my local church, The Roses of Hope was a money raising group who organized house parties where they had card games and sold liquor to raise money for the church. I had only been a churchgoer for two years in 1981 when the Lord called me.. Likewise, I was still as carnal as the rest of the members, but commonsense told me that there was something not quite right about THIS kind of money raising. lol. Once I mentioned the Roses of Hope, my conversation with the Lord stopped immediately and there was a deep silence. Disappointed, I thought to myself “what did I say that turned Him off?” I was such a babe. I have heard His voice a few times since but never again quite LIKE THAT!!!

Looking back, I realize that this encounter with the Lord was one of the several ways that I received my calling 26 years ago prior to entering the ministry on Oct. 25, 1981. At that time, I did not know what a sermon was much less a calling to ministry, so it took at least 10 signs for me to finally comprehend that I was being called. Even so, I have never is the new thing that can honestly tell you signs and indications forgotten the Lord’s mentioning of “the new thing.” What the Lord is going to do with “His Church?” In 26 years, I that I do not yet know for sure, but there have been some that I will share in upcoming issues.

In August 2007,—just two months ago. I had yet another “conversation.” There was no audible voice this time, as the communication was from ” the sender of the message to my spirit and then to my mind.” At the time, I was attempting to set up a conference schedule to conduct deliverance training seminars for a local church leader and I ran into a “closed door.” Almost immediately, the Lord revealed to me that He was the one who closed the door. Wondering why, I sought the Father in prayer. It didn’t take long for me to be answered. In less than a week, a kind of telepathic communication took place to let me know that I was “on the wrong track”. I didn’t even have a chance to emotionally respond to the unexpected rejection I had recently experienced.

Once I understood that it was God Himself who had “hardened her heart”, I completely changed my ministerial direction and I forgot about the particular “friend” in ministry that stood in my way. I realized that God used her to “close the door.”. I realize now that my ministry is not to equip or edify the traditional church on church property. My answer came through a kind of parable. I was asked, “would you put up curtains at the windows of a condemned building?” I answered with my mind. “No.”

Then a kind of a speech was made that went something like this. “A homeless person will make a home in a condemned building. To escape the elements of the weather on the outside, he will satisfy himself and “make do” with no heat, no running water, no lights, and he will share his dwelling with the occupants: the rats and the roaches.” Then I was hit in the face with this statement. “If you try to edify the organized church with seminars and conferences, you will be putting up curtains at the windows of a condemned building.”

Wow! I was stunned. Metaphorically speaking, it was clear to me that the condemned building was a symbol of the organized church. If this “mental conversation” was from the Holy Ghost)===== then the metaphor is suggesting that the organized church is a condemned building. Pleast note that I am still trying the spirits, so I am not saying “thus says the Lord” in this instance. If you have heard different, please let me know so that we can try the spirits together!!!

Condemnation suggests “judgment.” The word says that “judgment will begin at the household of faith.” Therefore, natural logic by simple commonsense suggests to me that “the organized church has either already been judged or will be judged very soon.” In keeping with this parable of sorts, sheep who attend church regularly are those who are afraid of the outside elements of a dangerous and sinful world, –and rightly so–Therefore, it makes sense to run inside church walls for protection. Yet, in keeping with the symbols, when we run inside, we find that there is no light. God is light. In Him there is no darkness at all. No light-No God!!!!! So what do we do? We “make do!!!”

The church has become skilled at “making do!” Since Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the Light and His people are referred to “as lights”, the next logical thought is that He is not the Head of the organized church and very few of His people are attending church. So what of the massive, mega congregations? Same thing. No light. No God. As astutely recognized in the words of one of my suscribers, it’s just a crowd of gatherers worshipping someone that they refer to as Jesus. To quote her exact words, “wherever the crowd gathers, there is sin crouching at the door.”

In addition, there is no running water in the condemned building— no rivers of living water—therefore, no Holy Ghost. Without the Holy Ghost, then the 7 stars are removed. The 7 stars are the angels of God.(Rev.1:20) Angels are assigned to the churches to guard and protect each flock. Without the Holy Ghost and the angels of God, it is understandable why the sheep are being spiritually damaged by the shepherds—- The RATS are the wolves in sheep’s clothing—- hirelings–the so called shepherds of the flock—- countless pastors who fellowship with uncleaness, ie. the roaches.

So it stands to reason, that if this “condemned building” parable be from the Lord, then the leaders of the church as it now stands have fared poorly in the Lord’s eyes. If this be so, then what about the sheep? Sheep need shepherds?!!! Where are the shepherds of the Lord? A condemned building can stand, maybe for years but ultimately, the beams and the walls will crumble and fall. If it doesn’t fall, then the city will come along with a bulldozer and “take it down.” How will the organized church come down?

Read Revelation Ch. 17 and Rev. 18 about “the harlot” called Mystery Babylon. After the fall of the towers of the World Trade Center, I thought that Rev. Ch. 18 was fulfilled for several reasons. However, one fact caused me to know that the dust fallout in NYC and the fall of “world trade” was not the complete fulfillment of this chapter. Why? Because the World Trade Center is being rebuilt. The scripture clearly states that when Babylon falls, there will be no rebuilding of her. So I wrongly assumed that Mystery Bablylon was NYC. I was born and raised in NYC. Therefore, in error, I warned everyone I knew to “come out of her.”

After a few years passed, I realized that NYC is NOT Babylon. Is it the USA? Maybe. Any one who knows the Lord realizes that He would not command us to “come out of her, my people” (Rev. 18:4), “lest you share in her sins, lest you receive of her plagues,” unless there was an actual place where we could flee to. Where are God’s people? Well, for the most part, God’s people are known to be in the organized church.

If Mystery Babylon were an actual city or nation, where on earth could all of God’s people go in an exodus of unimaginable global proportions? Recognizing the signs of the time, a few Christians have already fled to Canada, believing that in doing so, they are going to escape the fall of America. I say this to you. How can America be Babylon when God’s people are everywhere. So where are His people in every nation on the planet supposed to go? To the Moon or to Mars?

I don’t know about you but I don’t own a space ship. Even though several mega-tv evangelists own personal jet planes, they don’t own space ships!!! Regardless of what anybody says, America is the best country in the entire world. Meaning no disrespect to non-American readers, seekers of freedom from around the world flee their native lands all the time to find a safe harbor on American shores. There is no actual “place” that God’s people can go to on this earth.

Ironically, the USA is a country founded upon the flight of spiritually oppressed people from the Old World. However, since Christopher Columbus, oppressed Americans have no earthly place that we ourselves can flee to. Think about it. Can all of God’s people in the USA fit into Canada? Let’s be real, here. Anyway, if America is to fall, how safe is Canada? Canada is just around the corner from us. We’d be better off in Australia or the South Pole!!!!

BUT Fear not!!! Mystery Babylon could certainly not be a physical place. In 3 of my books, I referred to “the Fake Jesus” and other Ascended Masters aka “fallen angels”, with the two leading ones calling themselves Maitreya and Jesus Sananda Immanuel. I am not alone in my belief that Mystery Babylon is a mataphor symbolizing idolatrous religion. The “judged” church is not Mystery Babylon in its totality, but merely a part of it, Actually, there are several signs that the organized churches of today will eventually unite with all of the other false religions that relegate our Lord to a mere teacher or a prophet who they claim is a created being, “not divine”.

Yet I believe that most of the true church will rise out of a righteous remnant that still remains within the organized church and others whom the Lord has touched and called who have never been church members. I realize that the outpouring of the spirit of God upon ALL flesh is coming upon “the remnant church” but clearly, the Holy Ghost will not manifest Himself in a corrupt place. The Lord will not put new wine into old wineskins. However, where the rivers will flow, I do not yet know.

Does the “new thing” require buildings to do the work of the Lord.? No, but if so, I suspect that buildings will be used on a very limited scale. The early church of the book of Acts “was not organized,” as followers of the resurrected Lord assembled in each other’s homes. Likewise, I don’t believe that the “new thing” will be organized with boards, bishops and buildings either!!!! The only covering required is the Head Himself, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Praise His Holy Name!!!

Nor do I believe that anyone will be able to stand in the way of “the new thing.” I have perceived some signs that quietly and secretly the Holy Ghost has been taking His time over the last few decades, preparing righteous and holy shepherds–Joshuas and Calebs— who have been refined in the fires of trial, trouble and tribulation— leaders across the globe. There are not many of them, but like Gideon’s army, there will be enough to do the job. So what should we do in the meantime? Well, we should “watch, pray and wait. ”

Some of God’s people have already heeded the call and we have “come out of Her.” Others of you may have to stay within the condemned building for a time or at least on its periphery, until you too “hear the call.” It is not my job to “call you out.” This is not my intention. Some people are addicted to church and if they were to “come out” without the proper care and support systems in place, additional spiritual damage might be incurred. As withdrawal from alcohol without medical supervision is life threatening, so too, an exodus from the organized church at the present moment may be too shocking to the spiritual system of longterm “churchaholics.” Actually, it is wise NOT to come out until you hear the Holy Ghost for yourself. The problem is that most sheep within church walls for a considerable length of time are so deaf and so blind that they simply cannot hear and they cannot see.

Moreover, the enemy has built up a formidable stronghold by seducing them to heed and believe false doctrines or to become emotionally attached to pastors, buildings, church traditions, choir members, etc.. The god of this world has blinded them, almost beyond repair. (II Cor 4:3,4) Only God Himself can release the prey of the mighty and set free the lawfully captive. (Isaiah 49:24-26) In each case of spiritual blindness, prayer should beseech the Father based upon His mercy, grace and pardon. My job is simple. I preach righteousness and truth, both by mouth and on the printed page. That’s all I have to do. The Lord does His work of deliverance, and from time to time, allows me to share in His power.

I commit to sending you the truth through Sheppard’s Publishing Center and let the Spirit of Truth –aka- the Holy Ghost open your spiritual ears to hear, to understand and to obey Him when He calls you out of Mystery Babylon. By His grace anad mercy, I believe that He will restore your spiritual hearing and your spiritual sight, if the condition of your heart is sincere, meek and upright. You yourself have an unction from God to see and if you hunger and thirst after righteousness, I strongly believe that when the time is right, you will hear His call.

To simplify matters, here is a general overview of the organized church of today. There are two main sects of Christians: Catholics and Protestants. Within Protestantism, there are three main branches: the denominations, the nondenominations, and the word of faith/charismatic movement. The church of James from Atlanta’s youth falls under the category of a denomination, the Baptist Church. The second church that James and Michelle both describe is what is categorized as a word of faith, non-denominational charismatic church.

There are many denominations. There are a few denominations that are charismatic, ie. the pentecostal churches. There is one denomination that calls itself “full gospel baptist.” It should be pointed out that every nondenominational church is not necessarily charismatic or word of faith. However, practically ALL word of faith churches are charismatic and therefore they have much in common with some denominational pentecostal churches.

So where should you attend church while you “watch and wait” for the Lord’s “new thing?” Good question. Everyone is not like me. As a watchman, I was actually called to stand alone. So this is just my opinion for those who have a different calling. My advice may be of some value to you, as it is based upon decades of experience with the denominational and the non-denominational, charismatic word of faith movement.

Point #3 In truth, I personally believe that the best option—the wisest choice–is to stay out of the organized church entirely, especially if you are a babe in Christ or one who is lost, but seeking Him.

However, if you a churchgoer and you are still attached or even addicted to “church”, then know this. By far, if you are attending a charismatic church, be it pentecostal, charismatic, or word of faith, you are not in a safe place. All churches have become a dwelling place of demons!

I am an advocate of home churches, of three, but no more than 5 people. Each home church should have a coordinator. I will provide the coordinator with all of the tools necessary to feed the sheep each week. For more information, visit www.pamsheppard.com and click the link for Sheppard’s Society of Home Churches.

Pam Sheppard Ministries: RESCUE

Served as an ordained minister and pastor in a well known AA denomination for 25 years, the Lord called Pam Sheppard out of the entire institutional church system in 2004. The author of 9 published books, a professional therapist since 1973, Pam provides telephone counseling, coaching, mentoring and training on line from RESCUE. For more info, call 518-477-5759
Books available at www.lulu.com/spotlight/pam_s911